Vashon is a census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, United States. It covers an island alternately called Vashon Island or Vashon-Maury Island, the largest island in Puget Sound south of Admiralty Inlet. The population was 10,624 at the 2010 census and the size is 37 square miles (96 km2), slightly larger than Manhattan. There are no bridges to connect the island with the mainland, a big factor contributing to the island's relative isolation and rural character.

There were 4,193 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 34.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $58,261, and the median income for a family was $67,010. Males had a median income of $50,201 versus $36,426 for females. The per capita income for the island was $31,983. About 4.6% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.2% of those under the age of 18 and 2.2% of those 65 and older.

Based on per capita income, Vashon ranks 32nd of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked.

The economy of Vashon Island is heavily based on residents commuting to Seattle and Tacoma. While orchards and strawberry farms formerly played a major role in the Vashon economy, the pressures of suburban residential development have all but eliminated any major commercial agriculture on the island. Many small farms operate on the island, providing locals with fresh organic produce, milk, and eggs. Despite the changes, the island continues to observe the tradition of holding a strawberry festival every July. In certain areas like Dockton a majority of current property owned was occupied and consequently seized from Japanese-American citizens who farmed strawberries on that land until WW2 where they were moved to internment camps.

Vashon's economy took another hit in recent years when it lost two of its major industrial employers: K2 Sports moved its manufacturing to China, and the Seattle's Best Coffee roastery operation was closed shortly after SBC was bought by Starbucks. Currently, the largest manufacturer on Vashon is Pacific Research Laboratories, locally referred to as "The Bone Factory".

Water Taxi service between the northern terminus and downtown Seattle for passengers only is provided by King County with three sailings in each direction during both the morning and afternoon, Monday through Friday.

Vashon Municipal Airport is on the northern half of the island. There is no regularly scheduled air service to the airport.

King County Metro provides bus service from downtown Seattle to the island Monday through Friday, and down the length of the island Monday through Saturday.[5]

In 2014 a small, non-profit media outlet, Voice of Vashon, acquired a Low Power FM radio broadcast license from the FCC. KVSH-FM went live on 101.9FM in October 2014, and is also available for live streaming at Voice of Vashon's website. (http://www.voiceofvashon.org) Voice of Vashon also operates a television station, Comcast Channel 21, and its Emergency Broadcast System at 1650AM. Each of these outlets serves Vashon and Maury Islands year round, 24 hours/day 7 days/week with Island generated or specific information, entertainment and emergency alerts.

Maury Island is home to numerous AM transmitters. KIRO 710 (built in 1941) has two massive towers for its 50,000 watts day/night transmitter. KTTH 770, which transmits 50,000 watts during the day and 5,000 watts at night, shares towers with KFNQ. KIRO and KTTH are owned by Bonneville International.

There was a tower originally built in 1946 for KEVR 1090AM, which later became KING radio, is now KFNQ and owned by CBS. It transmits 50,000 watts day/night and now operates 3 towers. This site is shared with KTTH.

On Vashon Island, radio station KVI 570 has a single tower on a beach in Tramp Harbor, nicknamed "KVI Beach". KVI transmits 24 hours a day at 5,000 watts. KOMO 1000 transmits 50,000 watts day/night and has a three tower setup on the northeast corner of the island. Both KVI and KOMO are owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group.

These stations have located their transmitters on Vashon and Maury Islands because soil conductivity, important to signal propagation in the MW band broadcast frequency range, is greater than elsewhere around Puget Sound. The surrounding sea water is also helpful to MW propagation.

Berkeley Breathed, author of the political satire comic strip Bloom County, resided on Vashon for some time. He wrote a children's book based on a bicycle in a tree. The real-life tree, growing around a bicycle, can be seen on the island.[12]

Michael Chabon, writer and 2001 Pulitzer winner. His novel Summerland (2002) is set on fictional Clam Island, WA, which Chabon has acknowledged having modeled on Vashon.[13] Some of the stories in his collection Werewolves In Their Youth (1999) are also set on an island that strongly resembles Vashon.

Dan Savage, editor of The Stranger and the author of "Savage Love," a syndicated sex advice column, formerly lived on Vashon Island with his partner and adopted son. By his own account, he moved from Vashon because he was unsure that the local public schools would welcome the adopted son of gay partners.